Board of Education Update — May 12, 2026 Regular Meeting

The May 12, 2026, meeting of the Board of Education included presentations on the following topics:

Retiree recognition

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated 34 dedicated staff members who are retiring by the end of this school year. Congratulations to: Michael Donelson, Upper Arlington High School; Annette Hegemier, Tremont Elementary School; Susan Laux, Burbank Early Childhood School; Alicia McGinty, Upper Arlington High School; Teresa Morley, Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School; Gregory Moul, Jones Middle School; Kenneth Noble, Burbank Early Childhood School; Marlene Orloff, Upper Arlington High School; Jon Parker-Jones, Jones Middle School; Caryn Sabistina, Hastings Middle School; Dana Schoenleb, Upper Arlington High School; Stephen Stern, Upper Arlington High School; Sarah Williams, Tremont Elementary School; Gretchen Wyder Zunic, Upper Arlington High School; Allen Banks, Upper Arlington High School; Jody Blair, Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School; Cynthia Brehmer, Windermere Elementary School; Stephanie Collins, District; Herminio Cuenca, Upper Arlington High School; Kim Culp, Transportation; Amy Ford, Greensview Elementary School; Debra Haynes, Burbank Early Childhood School; Joe Keith, Tremont Elementary School and Upper Arlington High School; Derrick Kindrix, Jones Middle School; Kenneth Kleindorfer, Maintenance/Operations; Kelli Leinbaugh, Hastings Middle School; Cynthia Luce, Jones Middle School; Denise Pontious, Jones Middle School; Stacy Riccobene, District; Douglas Rinehart, Upper Arlington High School; Tracy Slaughter, Maintenance/Operations; Jeffrey Stevenson, Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School; Renee Stevenson, Hastings Middle School; and Dianna Vernon, Upper Arlington High School.

ACT Perfect Score Recognition

The Board of Education recognized Upper Arlington High School students who achieved a perfect score on the ACT. Seven seniors achieved a perfect score.

UAHS Fencing Recognition

The Board of Education recognized the Upper Arlington High School boys fencing team for winning the Ohio High School Fencing Championship last month.

District Highlights

Superintendent Robert Hunt, Ph.D., shared the following highlights: 

• Staff Appreciation Week: Last week was Staff Appreciation Week, celebrating everything that our staff across the district do every day. Dr. Hunt thanked the PTOs for making our staff feel loved and appreciated that week. This year, we asked some of our alumni to share who made a difference for them during their time in Upper Arlington Schools. You can view this special Staff Appreciation Week video here.
• Golden Apple Awards: Over the past week, the Upper Arlington Civic Association has recognized nine teachers in the district for going above and beyond for students. Congratulations to: Ann Marie Cubberly, Barrington Elementary School; Christy Kish, Greensview Elementary School; Eliza Kroger, Tremont Elementary School; Kristin Jentgen, Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School; Mike Kerstetter, Windermere Elementary School; Aimee Crabtree, Hastings Middle School; Nick Judy, Jones Middle School; Dr. Diane Kahle, Upper Arlington High School; and Kolin Redman, district award.
• Governor’s Science of Reading Awards: All five Upper Arlington Schools elementary schools are recipients of Governor’s Science of Reading Awards. We were proud to recently host Governor Mike DeWine in recognition of these awards. This was an opportunity for our staff to shine and showcase their great work in the area of literacy.
• UAHS Military Signing Day: Last week, we also proudly celebrated Upper Arlington High School’s first Military Signing Day and honored seven outstanding members of the Class of 2026 who are committing to serve our country through military service, military academies and ROTC programs after graduation. 
• Purple Star Award: Last week, we also celebrated Hastings Middle School, Jones Middle School and Upper Arlington High School earning the Purple Star Award from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce alongside the military-connected students and families who help make these school communities so special. This recognition reflects each school’s commitment to supporting military-connected students and ensuring they feel welcomed, connected and supported throughout their time in Upper Arlington Schools.
• Administrative Hiring Update: We are excited to have Matt Jordan on the agenda today for the Hastings Middle School principal position. Matt joined the district four years ago, spending the first two years as an assistant principal at Upper Arlington High School and the last two years as the principal of the Upper Arlington Online Academy and UA Hub.
• Coffee & Conversation: The year in review will be the focus for the district’s next Coffee & Conversation event on Friday, May 15 at 9 a.m. at the Bob Crane Community Center.

Amplify Student Voice Committee: The UA Student Experience Study

Dr. Hunt and Denise Lutz, Ed.D., Chief Excellence & Engagement Officer, introduced members of the Amplify Student Voice Committee to share their findings in their first year. Amplify is a key element of the Board of Education’s policy on student voice and the district’s Excellence & Innovation 2030 Strategic Plan. This committee has been supported by the Upper Arlington Education Foundation, which provided funding for leadership development opportunities for this group. 

Amplify’s student research study involved a mixed methods approach with five areas of study: academic engagement; school climate and culture; social-emotional wellness and mental health; student voice, leadership and agency; and extracurricular activities and facilities. The study involved a quantitative survey for grades 6-12, which received 1,066 responses; qualitative focus groups for grades 3-12; and artifact creation for grades K-2.  

Student representatives from Amplify summarized their initial findings and recommendations as follows:

• The student-teacher bond is the most critical driver of academic success across the district.
  • Implementing specific “bonding activities" to ensure every student feels seen and heard.
  • Offer students more choice within their class frameworks 
  • Create open dialogue regarding homework volume to ensure assignments are meaningful and do not negatively impact student well-being.
• The overall climate is characterized by growing acceptance and empathy. 
  • There is an expressed need for deeper mentorship at the secondary level.
  • Cross-program social opportunities
  • Strengthen peer-support networks at the secondary level for the 5.7% of students who do not yet feel accepted.
• The district’s mental health supports, including wellness rooms and counselors, are seen as a vital “safety net" for students.
  • Expand the “wellness room" model to all buildings 
  • Continue promoting peer-led programs like Sources of Strength. 
  • Provide additional training for teachers and counselors to create a seamless web of support for students.
• Two-thirds of students report opportunities to serve as leaders. 
  • Ensure student councils and peer-support groups are open to all students
  • Create consistent, private channels for students to provide input on school rules
  • Re-evaluate the rules on focus tools to help reduce student stress.
• Students value specialized areas in the buildings where they feel productive and at ease. 
  • There is an ask for more quiet, partitioned focus areas. 
• Extracurricular activities are the primary engine for social connection and personal recognition from coaches.
  • Review fees and equipment costs for students who feel participation is out of reach.

School year calendars

The 2027-2028, 2028-2029 and 2029-2030 school year calendars were presented to the Board of Education for approval.

STEAM update

Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Siddens, Ph.D., and Chief Academic Officer Jaclyn Angle, Ed.D., shared an update on work in the area of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics). As part of the Excellence & Innovation 2030 Strategic Plan and focus on engaged learning, Upper Arlington Schools formed a STEM Committee to provide strategic recommendations to strengthen STEM learning opportunities across K-12. The recommendations were developed through a collaborative process conducted between February and December 2025. The committee was composed of district educators, building and central office administrators, and community partners. The PAST Foundation partnered with the district and facilitated five committee meetings. Throughout this process, the committee reviewed historical and current student data and conducted focus groups with school counselors, students, and local business leaders. 

The resulting recommendations are aligned to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) frameworks, including the STEM/STEAM School Standards and the ODEW Career Pathways Rubric, ensuring consistency with state-recognized expectations for high-quality, equitable, and workforce-aligned STEM programming. These recommendations are designed to inform the district’s strategic planning, resource investments, and instructional priorities.

The recommendations are to:

• Identify a district STEAM coordinator and STEAM teams
• Define and publish career cluster pathways
• Strengthen advising and student career portfolios
• Integrate STEAM into K-12 curriculum and experience

Over the next school year, the district will be working to: 

• Identify STEAM committee members from each building to focus on implementation
• Plan for career awareness planning and expansion for middle school students
• Define K-12 career pathways and clusters
• Increase opportunities for STEAM K-12
• Expand opportunities identified by New Solutions K12 in middle school regarding elective offerings and student access

Policy updates

Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Siddens, Ph.D., shared two policies for first read and three  policies for second read and approval. 
 

Communications from the Board

Board of Education President Jenny McKenna recommended that the Board wait to have discussion on two areas of focus — board expectations and stakeholder ecosystems.

Facilities master planning update

Dr. Hunt shared an update on phase two of the facilities master planning process, focusing on the aging middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood School. He shared that the district has engaged in an additional community scientific survey and a community conversation focused on the future of Jones Middle School. He shared appreciation for the community members who attended and engaged in conversation in a respectful way.  

The next steps include reviewing all the feedback before the Board of Education holds a special meeting on May 27 at 5 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 3600 Tremont Road, to review a final master plan recommendation. 

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld also shared that there are two items on the agenda tonight related to facilities master planning — contracts with INCompliance Consulting National Purchasing Consortium and Ruscilli Construction Company — as part of the planning for a third floor addition at the high school as potential swing space during Jones construction. This is an initial step that would later be finalized pending community approval of a November 2026 ballot measure related to facilities master planning.

Fiscal update

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld went into greater detail on ballot millage calculations for bonds in connection to the discussions on facilities master planning. He shared that there are four main factors in how bond millage is calculated: total dollar amount of projects, maximum length of repayments, estimated interest rate and total assessed property valuation of the school district as of the ballot calculation date. Two of these factors — the project dollar amount and the maximum length of repayment — cannot change, but the other two — estimated interest rate and total assessed property valuation — will likely change after the issue is placed on the ballot. He shared that this makes it very confusing to share the ballot millage, because what voters are ultimately approving is the project dollar amount and the maximum length of repayments. Therefore, the actual bond millage that is collected may actually be different than the ballot millage.

Geistfeld also shared that there is a planned drop in debt payments in 2028-2029 that would help reduce the tax increase for homeowners over what they are currently paying for district bonds. For example, if the ballot millage calculation were to be 5.65 mills, homeowners could expect to actually see an increase of 2.75 mills from the tax rate they are currently paying for debt.

He shared the ballot language from 2017 as an example, which included a bond millage of 6.92. In this case, the actual increase in the tax rate was 5 mills. The difference would be more impactful on a November 2026 bond request due to the decrease in debt payments. 

Treasurer’s updates

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld shared the monthly financial statements for April 2026. 

You may visit our Upper Arlington Schools Board of Education page to access the May 12 meeting agenda and video. To view the meeting presentation, please click here. For meeting dates and more information about the Board of Education, please visit www.uaschools.org/board.